nine-year hiatus after the 2014 running and the resurrection of the extreme event in 2024 had been so eagerly anticipated . Run by the Forestland Motorcycle Club , this year ’ s edition was not meant to be so souldestroying as Clarke and his work crew decided to tone down some of body-breaking qualities , to help boost the number of potential finishers / survivors .
It worked – of the 148 starters last year , there were only 34 who managed to complete the course in the allotted five hours , but 59 managed to survive to the finish this time around , with Taupo ’ s Wil Yeoman ( KTM 300 EXC ), Thames rider Chris Birch ( KTM 350 EXC-F ) and the now Masterton-based former Taranaki teenager Sam Parker ( Husqvarna TE300 ) completing the podium .
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